Ernest Torrence(1878-1933)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
He was the man you loved to hiss. This towering (6' 4"), highly
imposing character star with cold, hollow, beady eyes and a huge,
protruding snout would go on to become one of the silent screen's
finest arch villains. Born Ernest Thayson Torrence-Thompson on June 26,
1878, in Edinburgh, Scotland, he was, unlikely enough, an exceptional
pianist and operatic baritone. A graduate of the Stuttgart
Conservatory, Edinburgh Academy before earning a scholarship at
London's Royal Academy of Music, he toured with the D'Oyly Carte Opera
Company in such productions as "The Emerald Isle" (1901) and "The Talk
of the Town" (1905) before serious vocal problems set in. Both Ernest
and his actor brother David Torrence came to America directly from Scotland
prior to WWI. Focusing instead on a purely acting career, both brothers
developed into seasoned players on the New York stage. Ernest made his
Broadway bow with "Modest Suzanne" in 1912 and a standout role in "The
Night Boat" in 1920 brought him to the attention of Hollywood
filmmakers.
He earned superb marks playing the despicable adversary Luke Hatburn in
Tol'able David (1921) opposite Richard Barthelmess, and immediately settled into films for the
rest of his career. Adept at both comedy and drama, Ernest avoided what
could have been a damaging stereotype with his sympathetic portrayal of
a grizzled old codger in the classic western The Covered Wagon (1923). He further
bolstered his celebrity with plum, lip-smacking roles alongside Lon Chaney
in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) as Clopin, king of the beggars, and Betty Bronson in Peter Pan (1924) as
the dastardly Captain Hook. In an offbeat bit of casting he paired up
with Clara Bow in Mantrap (1926) as a gentle, bear-like backwoodsman in search
of a wife, and participated in other silent classics such as The King of Kings (1927)
(as Peter) and Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) as Buster Keaton's steamboat captain Dad.
Despite his celluloid villainy, Ernest was known as a courtly and
cultivated gentleman in private. He made the transition into talking
films intact and was able to play a marvelous nemesis, Dr. Moriarty, to
Clive Brooks' Sherlock Holmes (1932) before his untimely death. Ernest died following his
filming as a smuggler in I Cover the Waterfront (1933) starring Claudette Colbert in New York on May
15,1933, at the relatively young age of 54. It seems that while en
route to Europe by ship, Torrence suffered an acute attack of gall
stones and was rushed back to a New York hospital. He died of
complications following surgery. Looking and usually playing much older
than he was, Hollywood lost a marvelously talented and robust character
player who had dozens of films ahead of him.
imposing character star with cold, hollow, beady eyes and a huge,
protruding snout would go on to become one of the silent screen's
finest arch villains. Born Ernest Thayson Torrence-Thompson on June 26,
1878, in Edinburgh, Scotland, he was, unlikely enough, an exceptional
pianist and operatic baritone. A graduate of the Stuttgart
Conservatory, Edinburgh Academy before earning a scholarship at
London's Royal Academy of Music, he toured with the D'Oyly Carte Opera
Company in such productions as "The Emerald Isle" (1901) and "The Talk
of the Town" (1905) before serious vocal problems set in. Both Ernest
and his actor brother David Torrence came to America directly from Scotland
prior to WWI. Focusing instead on a purely acting career, both brothers
developed into seasoned players on the New York stage. Ernest made his
Broadway bow with "Modest Suzanne" in 1912 and a standout role in "The
Night Boat" in 1920 brought him to the attention of Hollywood
filmmakers.
He earned superb marks playing the despicable adversary Luke Hatburn in
Tol'able David (1921) opposite Richard Barthelmess, and immediately settled into films for the
rest of his career. Adept at both comedy and drama, Ernest avoided what
could have been a damaging stereotype with his sympathetic portrayal of
a grizzled old codger in the classic western The Covered Wagon (1923). He further
bolstered his celebrity with plum, lip-smacking roles alongside Lon Chaney
in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) as Clopin, king of the beggars, and Betty Bronson in Peter Pan (1924) as
the dastardly Captain Hook. In an offbeat bit of casting he paired up
with Clara Bow in Mantrap (1926) as a gentle, bear-like backwoodsman in search
of a wife, and participated in other silent classics such as The King of Kings (1927)
(as Peter) and Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) as Buster Keaton's steamboat captain Dad.
Despite his celluloid villainy, Ernest was known as a courtly and
cultivated gentleman in private. He made the transition into talking
films intact and was able to play a marvelous nemesis, Dr. Moriarty, to
Clive Brooks' Sherlock Holmes (1932) before his untimely death. Ernest died following his
filming as a smuggler in I Cover the Waterfront (1933) starring Claudette Colbert in New York on May
15,1933, at the relatively young age of 54. It seems that while en
route to Europe by ship, Torrence suffered an acute attack of gall
stones and was rushed back to a New York hospital. He died of
complications following surgery. Looking and usually playing much older
than he was, Hollywood lost a marvelously talented and robust character
player who had dozens of films ahead of him.